Pittsburgh managed to jump out to a 4-0 record after beating up the Ravens at home on October 3rd. Batch plays a solid, but unspectacular game; Mendenhall averages a respectable 4.2 YPC and the defense manages to hold off a late game, final drive rally by Flacco & Co. for a 16-10 win. BTW, Polamalu records his 3rd INT of the season at the Steeler 10 yard line to seal the deal.

Cruising into the bye, the Steelers and their fans are flying high. Team is clicking; everyone is (relatively) healthy; and OBTW, they get their starting QB back this week. Ben comes back to practice looking a little leaner and lot humbled. He jumps right into the swing, but looks very rusty. Timing with the receivers is off and his stamina isn't what it should be for an NFL QB going into Week #5. Still, assurances are made that he'll be ready for the Browns (*laughs*) when they stroll into town on the 17th. After all, he and BA have two weeks to prepare, right?

The week following the bye, #7 seems to be getting into a groove. Drills were sharp and crisp and he appears to be on the same page with the rest of the offense. Unfortunately, the smooth transition came to an abrupt halt against, of all teams, the Vagina coached Browns. Pittsburgh commits a boatload of penalties and turns the ball over a season high 4 times en route to a 13-10 upset that lacked offense on both sides, but included a Josh Cribbs KO return for a TD. A sad, sad day of uninspired and sloppy football on the day their leader returned. Tomlin assures everyone that hell will be raised or somethin' this week leading up to their next opponent, the Fins.

Once again, Ben and the offense appear to have a good week of practice. Extra filmstudy to eliminate the missed assignments and longer than expected drills to weed out the stupid mental errors. Everyone looks sharp and focused. A loss to the lowly Browns is just the wakeup call they needed to get back in gear. No team is a gimmee. They'll be ready for the Fins and the heat (again) when they fly down to My-Hammy, for sure.

This one plays out a little more, but not quite exactly as expected. Pittsburgh gets the offense rolling and manages to put some offensive points on the board. Going into the half, the Steelers are up 23-10. Fans expect to get a heavy dose of Mendenhall and Redman for the final 30 minutes. Miami opens the 2nd half with a sustained TD drive following good field position from the opening kickoff. Henne connects with some random, white WR that nobody's ever heard of, but managed to burn Ike Taylor in the back corner of the EZ. After a field position battle that goes about halfway into the 4th, BR throws an ill advised INT to #17 into double coverage. A nice return sets up Miami's second TD of the half and the outright lead with plenty of time remaining on the clock (3:18). No biggee. Who's better at 4th quarter come from behind drives than #7?

Following a few questionable playcalls and an ill-advised, inauspicious QB sweep attempt, Pittsburgh finds themselves staring at 4th and 7 on their own 47 yard line with :52 remaining. The Steelers elect to go spread on 4th with Ward and Miller likely being the desired targets. Unfortunately, Ben telegraphs his intentions and Channing Crowder steps in front of a pass intended for Miller down the seam that would've given Pittsburgh the first down and inside track to a winning FG attempt. Another turnover. That's 3 on the day for #7, 2 pickles and a fumble during a scramble. Kneel down. Ball game.

A team that went 4-0 without their starting QB just lost their second game in a row to an "inferior" opponent. The fan rumblings are starting and they're getting progressively louder...quickly. Steeler online message boards are awash with fury. On one particular site, posters from Maximum Grilled Steelers burn coozies and custom made jerseys in effigy during a backyard grill session. Rumor has it that "Broken Face" from the Pixies was the driving force behind the incident.

Up next, the Champs, at their place, on MNF. 4-3 after that game is a very realistic possibility; after a 4-0 start, that would be devastating. Ben has looked competent, but very shaky, out of sync and mistake prone due to poor decisions.

It's a question with a seemingly easy answer...or is it? Who do you go with on MNF?

Simple answer is it's likely that Ben is the first QB on the team that will record a loss, they aren't going 16-0 after all. But he's also the only QB on the team that IMO can win a Super Bowl. Even if the team is 4-0 without Ben and falls down to 4-4 with him, stick with the franchise.

Simple answer is it's likely that Ben is the first QB on the team that will record a loss, they aren't going 16-0 after all. But he's also the only QB on the team that IMO can win a Super Bowl. Even if the team is 4-0 without Ben and falls down to 4-4 with him, stick with the franchise.

+1

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"I like David Bowie, he was always my favorite member of Tin Machine."- Rodney Anonymous

Very nice commentary AJ I was laughing out loud while reading, esp. the white receiver no one has heard of....haha. Although compelling drama for the media if this unfolds, Big Ben is the franchise and we have to stick by the 2 time superbowl winner if this transpires. If Batch was a superbowl quarterback, he wouldn't have been lingering as our 3rd stringer for the last how many years, right?

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"If you make every game a life and death proposition, you're going to have problems. For one thing, you'll be dead a lot."